Gabrielle Giffords
 Gabrielle Giffords    (politician) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Gabrielle Dee Giffords 1970-06-08 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Scripps College, Cornell University | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Reform Judaism | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Mark Kelly | ||||||||||||||||
| Member of | American Swiss Foundation/Young Leaders/2004, Truman Center for National Policy, WEF/Young Global Leaders/2010 | ||||||||||||||||
| Victim of | 2011 Tucson shooting | ||||||||||||||||
| Party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||
US Democratic politician survived assassination attempt in 2011. Resigned from office, but still in Democratic party leadership.
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Gabrielle Dee Giffords is an American politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned due to a severe brain injury suffered during an assassination attempt. A member of the Democratic Party, Giffords was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
Background
Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Giffords graduated from Scripps College and Cornell University.
Career
After initially moving to New York City, where she worked in regional economic development for Price Waterhouse, Giffords returned to Arizona to work as the CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a family business started by her grandfather. She served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 until 2003 and the Arizona Senate from 2003 until 2005 when she was elected to the U.S. House.
Assassination attempt
Giffords had just begun her third term in January 2011 when she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and mass shooting just outside of Tucson during an event with constituents. Giffords has since recovered much of her ability to walk, speak, read, and write. She attended President Obama's State of the Union address on January 24, and appeared on the floor of the House on January 25, 2012, where she formally submitted her resignation.
Though a moderate on the issue during her time in Congress, Giffords has since become an ardent advocate for gun control. In January 2013, she and her husband launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, a non-profit organization and Super-PAC which later joined with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords. She is married to former Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly, the junior United States Senator from Arizona.
